Helicopter rides, barn tours and farm-fresh food were some
of the highlights of the weekend, which attracted around 1,500 visitors.

The Hunter family has been beekeeping for 101 years, but the
festival is a fairly recent development.

“The festival has been going for 10 years now,” explained
Tracy Hunter, co-owner of the farm. “What’s nice about our festival is that not
only can they come out and enjoy some fun activities, but they can also so how
we produce a jar of honey.”

Guests enjoyed horse rides, apple cider and honey-flavored
food.

“We offered free tours of the honey barn, where they could
watch my son extracting the honey,” Hunter said. “We were back there dipping
candles and bottling honey. There was a lot going on.”

Gary Bramer, a beekeeper at the farm, said guests learned
about the byproducts of the honey extraction process.

“We told people some of the things we do with the different
products that come out of the hive,” he said. “There are several products, like
wax, pollen, different hand creams and lip balms.”

Bramer said this year’s bee hives are doing well, but some
are suffering from colony collapse disorder, a scenario in which all the bees
will leave the hive.

“I’ve seen about 20 hives disappear in the last couple
weeks,” he said.

The Hunters’ farm has around 500 hives throughout the state
that pollinate crops such as watermelons, apples and pumpkins.

Tracy Hunter runs the farm with wife Christina and children
Ross and Mackenzie. The family has a rich history associated with
beekeeping.

“My grandfather started in 1910,” Hunter said. “He got the
bees for his father’s orchard. He was a schoolteacher and beekeeper. My mom was
a schoolteacher and a beekeeper, and now my wife and I are school teachers and
beekeepers.

“We’re the third generation. I teach high school science,
and my wife teaches middle school home economics.”

Along with the honey business, the Hunters know the ins and
outs of the Christmas tree business, as well. They grow and sell around 4,000
trees.

“The Christmas trees are a college fund for my children,”
Hunter said. “We start selling trees the weekend after Thanksgiving. They can
choose and cut any tree out there. We shake it and bale it at no extra
charge.”